Migrant workers warned anew against sharing their HKIDs for fee

 

The Philippine Consulate posted this warning against sharing one's HKID card only last June

Never share your Hong Kong ID card and other personal documents with anyone in exchange for money, no matter how tempting or seemingly harmless the offer, as it would most likely lead you to jail.

This warning, repeatedly made by the Philippine Consulate and by the Hong Kong Police over the years, is being brought to the fore again, after a group of Filipino domestic workers was again lured to sharing their HKIDs and work contracts in exchange for HK$1,000.

This information was shared with The SUN by one of its readers, a Filipina domestic worker who said her friend was taken somewhere in Tsuen Wan on Jan. 4 where her HKID and contract were copied, after which she was paid $1,000.

DETAILS HERE

This friend, in turn, sent her a chat message asking her if she was interested in doing the same thing, and offered to take her to the same place. The HKID and contract details were supposed to be used for registering with an Indonesian SIM card.

“Pero nag-alanganin ako kasi sa mga nababasa ko sa news ninyo about money laundering,” said R.Q., who sent out the alert about the new identity theft scam. (But I hesitated because of what I have been reading in your news reports about money laundering).

R.Q. relayed her concern to her friend, who instantly got alarmed and scared at the prospect that her personal information would be used by syndicates in opening a bank account in her name, and then use this to launder money.

Basahin ang detalye!

“Yan din nga ang sinabi ko sa kanya, bakit di nila naisip na bibigyan sila ng ganoon kalaki na halaga kapalit ng picture ng ID at kontrata nila,” said R.Q. (That’s exactly what I told her. They should have wondered why they’d be given that much money for merely sharing pictures of their HKID card and contract).

R.Q. was told to bring her friend to the Consulate as soon as possible so they can be helped in reporting the matter to the police, and possibly prevent the syndicate from using the friend’s identity to launder dirty money or commit another serious crime.

Just last June, an OFW was sentenced to 22 months in prison after $2.2 million was discovered to have passed through her accounts with two online banks. Despite the OFW’s claim that she merely lent her HKID card so she could be registered for an online game, the judge was not convinced.

Read the story here: https://www.sunwebhk.com/search?q=filipina+jailed+22+months

Tomorrow, Jan. 12, another Filipina found to have dealt with $8.8 million in her three bank accounts, the biggest amount ever linked to a foreign domestic worker in a money laundering case, is due to be sentenced at the High Court.

She failed to convince the judge that she did not know that her HKID card would be used to open the bank accounts through which the tainted money had passed.

She claimed the syndicate behind the crime had made her believe she was only registering her personal information for an online game. The story is here: https://www.sunwebhk.com/2025/12/district-court-finds-filipina-guilty-of.html

2 Pinay DHs get jail sentences for theft

 

Filipina admitted stealing jewelry and cash (Photo for illustration only)

Two Filipina domestic helpers today pleaded guilty to stealing money and jewelry from their employers, and were jailed for 12 months and two months, respectively.

Jovy Santiago, 32 years old, received  the one-year  sentence from a Acting Principal Magistrate Daniel Tang Siu-hung after she pleaded guilty at Tuen Mun Court to stealing $211,800 worth of jewelry and cash from her employer’s home in Shek Wu Ting in Pat Heung, Yuen Long.

The stolen items consisted of a pair of gold bracelets worth $85,000, two gold bracelets worth $20,000, two diamond rings worth $58,800, one baby gold bracelet worth $8,000, one gold ring worth $18,000, HK$5,000 in cash, 10,000 renminbi in cash, and one necklace worth $7,000.

The thefts were committed between Feb. 1 and March 3 this year, according to the brief facts filed in court by the Yuen Long Police.

Pindutin para sa detalye

In a separate case, Aubrey Canusa, 37 years old, was jailed for two months by Magistrate Li Chi-ho, after she pleaded guilty in West Kowloon Court to stealing a wallet containing $25,000 from her employer who lived at Banyan Garden on Lai Chi Kok Road in Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon.

The theft took place on an unknown date between Jan. 22 and May 1 this year, according to information filed by the Sham Shui Po Police.

Basahin ang detalye!

Meanwhile, a third Filipina accused of theft was remanded in jail after her case was adjourned by Acting Principal Magistrate David Cheung at Eastern Court.

Magistrate Cheung set a hearing for Mylyn Masajo, 34 years old, on September 23 for plea.

She is accused of eight counts of theft allegedly committed between Feb. 15 and June 5 this year at her employer’s home in Harbour Heights in North Point.

 

 

 

Filipina jailed 22 months in $2.2 million laundering case

 

A Filipina’s defense that she did not open -- much less control -- two bank accounts that were subsequently used to launder more than $2.2 millon, failed to convince the Eastern Court today to acquit her, resulting in her being jailed for 22 months.

Annaliza Talay, 48 years old, was actually sentenced to two jail terms of 22 months each, one for  laundering $1,746,610.41 of "dirty" money in her account at Mox Bank between 19 and 28 March 2023, and another $478,121.52 between 19 and 27 March 2023 in her account at ZA Bank.

But Deputy Magistrate Chung Wing-sze ordered that the two sentences run at the same time, thus the final sentence of 22 months.

Basahin ang detalye!

Her conviction was for dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence, contrary to sections 25(1) and 25(3) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.

In her verdict, Magistrate Chung described as “incredible and illogical” Talay’s testimony that she had never had any bank account in her life, having arrived in Hong Kong in 2019 to work as a domestic helper and worked in Singapore before that.

She also gave little weight to Talay’s testimony that it all began when she tried to borrow money from a friend, who referred her to a certain Ruby, who in turn promised to give her $500 if she registered for online gaming, using her Hong Kong ID.

Talay testified that she was convinced that the registration was legit when she saw six other persons who had fallen in line to register.

The Chinese male who received her took pictures of her HKID and even asked to reshoot her face because earlier authentication shots did not meet the standards set by the purported gaming company.

After the online gaming registration, which turned out to be the opening of her accounts with Mox Bank and ZA Bank, Ruby gave her only $300, Talay had testified.

While she was not operating the accounts, she allowed others to operate them, Magistrate Chung said.

DH jailed 14 months for stealing 100 jewelry items

 

Defendant admitted stealing at least 100 pieces of jewelry (Photo for illustration only)

A Filipina domestic worker who admitted stealing around 100 pieces of jewelry valued at no less than $684,000 from her elderly employers’ daughter, was jailed for a total of 14 months on two charges of theft.

Magistrate Kestrel Lam told Sherelle Lyn V. Dajay, 40 years old, that her crimes and breach of her employers’ trust over seven months from March 17, 2024 to Oct. 12, 2024, are serious and must be weighed against the only mitigating factors -- that she pleaded guilty for which she was entitled to a one-third discount on her sentence, and her previous clear record.

Dajay pleaded guilty in a hearing last May 10 to two counts of theft: $684,000 worth of jewelry (made up of $480,700 for the first lot and $203,650 for the other) and a watch worth $4,300.

Magistrate Lam handed her a penalty of 15 months for the first charge, considering the value of the stolen properties, plus three months for breach of trust. With the one-third discount, the sentence was reduced to 12 months.

The penalty for the second charge was four months, two of which will run at the same time as the first, thus bringing the total sentence to 14 months.

Basahin ang detalye!

In all, the thefts had resulted in a loss of $148,150 in the form of items that could no longer be recovered by the victim, plus $55,000 lost by the two pawnshops to which Dajay brought the jewelry for cash, according to the prosecutor.

Her duty lawyer told the court she was unable to compensate for the losses.

In mitigation, the lawyer said she was tempted to steal the jewelry because she needed additional cash to pay for the college tuition of her son, 22 years old, and daughter, 23, as her husband was not earning enough.

Dajay was arrested on Oct 24 last year after the victim, Christine Sin, returned to the home of her parents on Black’s Link in Happy Valley for the first time after it had undergone renovation starting in February of the same year.

Dajay was said to have worked as caregiver for the couple for four years before this.

Sin realized then that a box of jewelry she had left inside an unlocked cabinet in her parents’ house had gone missing.

When she confronted Dajay, the latter admitted to the theft, and presented some pawnshop receipts for some of the missing items.

Sin called the police.

When police arrived at the house, a search was conducted, and a pink Link’s watch valued at $4,300 was found inside her bag, which Sin identified as her property. Dajay readily admitted guilt before the police, and said “sorry.”

Further investigation revealed a huge cache of jewelry that Dajay had stolen between March 17 and October 12 last year, based on receipts issued by two pawnshops.

The items which numbered around 100 pieces included a set of rings and earrings in platinum and diamonds, a platinum necklace, several number of jewelry pieces in gold and diamond, and at least five expensive watches.

The second theft charge pertained to the pink watch found inside her bag, which was said to have been stolen sometime in September last year.

Filipina DH jailed 10 months in $834K money laundering case

 

A Filipina domestic helper was jailed for 10 months today after she pleaded guilty at the Kowloon City Court to two money laundering charges involving $833,935.01.

Jocel Pajela, 43 years old, was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment for the first charge of “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable crime,” and six months for the second.

However, Acting Principal Magistrate Ko Wai-hung, made the first four months of the second sentence run at the same time as the first, leaving two months’ additional jail term.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

The first charge arose from the deposits and withdrawals of $478,503 in crime money in Pajela’s Hang Seng Bank account between July 12, 2023 and Sept. 6, 2023.

The second charge was for the $355,432.01 that went in and out of her Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. account on April 18 to 29, 2023.

Both acts violated the Serious and Organized Crime Ordinance.

Meanwhile, another DH walked free on bail of $2,000 from the Kwun Tong Court today despite the addition of two more money laundering charges against her, in which a total of $2.2 million in crime money allegedly passed though her three bank accounts.

Basahin ang detalye!

Eva Rose Tacda, 47 years old, initially faced one charge of “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable crime,” according to the information filed by police on July 26, 2024.

The charge arose from deposits and withdrawals totaling $256,510.1 in her MOX Bank Ltd. account within two days, on Feb. 22-23, 2023.

The first of the two additional charges was for her alleged handling of $940,356 though deposits and withdrawals in her Standard Chartered Bank account on February 22-27, 2023.

Her third charge arose from the inflow and outflow of $983,839 in her HSBC account also on February 22-27, 2023, the police complaint added.

All of the alleged offences are  in violation of the Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance,

Acting Principal Magistrate Leung Ka-kie adjourned the case to May 20.

PRESS FOR DETAILS

2 DHs jailed for stealing from their employers

 

2 DHs jailed for stolen jewelry (Photo illustration)

Two Filipina domestic helpers have been jailed after they admitted in separate courts to have stolen property from their employers.

April Love Mahigne, 42 years old, had the longer jail term at eight months, meted on her by Acting Principal Magistrate Ko Wai-hung at Kowloon City Court on Thursday (Feb. 6).

PRESS THIS FOR DETAILS

She pleaded guilty to stealing three bracelets, two pairs of earrings and two rings with a total value of $120,000.

The offense happened at her emplyer’s flat in The Waterfront in Yau Ma Tei between Sept. 14 and Nov. 22 last year.

PINDUTIN DITO

At Kwun Tong Court, Eddielyn Balimbin. 45 years old, was sentenced by Acting Principal Magistrate Leung Ka-kie to four weeks in jail after she pleaded guilty today to theft.

Basahin ang detalye!

The penalty came after she admitted stealing a pair of gold and dragon bangle, one gold bracelet, one gold bangle, one platinum ring and one gold necklace at her employer’s flat in Ocean Wings in Tseung Kwan O between July 2023 and Dec. 25, 2024.

DH linked to $727K money laundering jailed 8 months

 

Another Filipina domestic helper who got entangled in money laundering by lending her bank account to people who used it as depository for proceeds of crime, was jailed for eight months after she pleaded guilty at West Kowloon court.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Estrellita Barrientos, 56 years old, was convicted of dealing with property known or believed to be proceeds of indictable offense, in violation of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.

PRESS THIS FOR DETAILS

Basahin ang detalye!

That property was in the form of $726,675.42 in crime money that flowed in and out of her Bank of China account from Jan. 6 to April 22, 2021.

She was accused by Mong Kok Police of dealing in the money with the help of a certain Kurt Oliver.

PRESS FOR DETAILS

DH’s jail sentence raised from 2 to 6 months

 

(Update) A Filipina domestic helper who was jailed for two months after she pleaded guilty at Eastern Court to stealing a diamond ring and two platinum rings from her employer, had her sentence raised to six months.

In a review hearing requested by the prosecutors, Principal Magistrate Don So increased on Thursday (Jan. 23)  three-fold the penalty for Sheila Mae Bajar, 42 years old, who confessed to theft in violation of section 9 of the Theft Ordinance.

PRESS THIS FOR DETAILS

Magistrate So agreed with the prosecution’s argument that the two-month imprisonment handed to her earlier was not an appropriate penalty for the crime Bajar committed.

Last Wednesday (Jan. 22), she pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing a diamond ring and two platinum rings with a total value of $192,800, between March 1 and July 15 last year at her employer’s home in Residence Bel-Ai in Pokfulam.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Meanwhile, unemployed Chanda B., 44 years old, was fined $50 after she pleaded guilty to shoplifting chocolates from a BestMart 360 shop on King’s Road in North Point.

PINDUTIN DITO

The defendant admitted taking three packs of Mars chocolate, three packs of Toblerone, and three packs of Snickers on Dec. 21 last year.

Basahin ang detalye!

She was arrested by North Point policemen who were called to the scene by store employees  after she left the store with the goods without paying.

Filipina gets 10 months’ jail for conspiracy to defraud Immigration

 

Foreign domestic helper's visa

A Filipina who holds a recognizance form to serve as her identification document, has been jailed for 10 months for two counts of conspiracy to defraud the Immigration Department by presenting fake documents to enable two persons to get foreign domestic helper visas.

Gina Villareal, 52, was sentenced Thursday (Nov. 21) to eight months each for the two violations of Common Law and punishable under section 159C(6) of the Crimes Ordinance.

However, Acting Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong ordered that six months of the second sentence be served concurrently with the first, leaving only two to be added to the first sentence for a total of 10 months.

According to the first charge filed last Sept. 5, Villareal conspired with Aprilyn Tupas, Almira Narag-Chow and Homer Herrera to present bogus documents to the Immigration Department between an unknown date in 2021 and June 1, 2023.

PINDUTIN DITO

These documents became the basis for Immigration to grant a FDH visa to Tupas which allowed  her to remain in Hong Kong while working for Chow.

The complaint said the misrepresentation induced the Immigration “Director and his officers to act contrary to their public duty, namely to grant Tupas Aprilyn Tario permission to remain in Hong Kong, in circumstances which they would not otherwise have granted.”

In the second charge, Villareal was charged with conspiring with Liza Castillo, Jumiati and “a person known as Homer” to present fake documents between June 2022 and Aptil 26, 2023 to get Immigration to grant Jumiati a visa as a domestic helper of Castillo.

Basahin ang detalye!

It s understood that the co-conspirators also faced similar charges. Tupas, for example, was jailed for four months when she pleaded guilty to the same set of circumstances last Oct. 17 in the same court. (see https://www.sunwebhk.com/2024/10/4-months-for-lying-to-immigration-to.html)

Meanwhile, another Filipina was also convicted of conspiracy to defraud but magistrate Cheang put off her sentencing to Feb. 13 next year. She was released on bail of $1,000.

Elynette Montalban, aged 43, admitted participating in a conspiracy to defraud Immigration when she applied for a visa as domestic helper of co-conspirator Tam Ka Ki between June 22 and April 26, 2023.

Montalban was granted permission to stay in Hong Kong by Immigration officers “under circumstances which they would not otherwise have granted,” the police complaint said.

Also named as co-conspirator in the case was Kathleen Vizcarra, who acted with “persons unknown.”

PRESS FOR DETAILS

DH jailed 8 months for money laundering

 

Another Filipina domestic helper was sent to jail today for allowing her bank account to be used in money laundering, the latest in the growing number of Filipina domestic helpers getting ensnared in the crime.

Asteria Pinili, 41 years old and DH in Hong Kong since 2019, pleaded guilty in Eastern Court to dealing with crime money, and was sentenced by Principal Magistrate Don So to eight months in prison.

In a complaint filed by police last July 30, Pinili was charged with dealing with $641,086 of “any person’s proceeds of an indictable offense” through 16 deposits into her Mox Bank account from 7 to 21 June last year. 

Pindutin para sa detalye

In another case today, Magistrate So rejected an offer of $20,000 in cash, in a bail review for another Filipina domestic helper charged with money laundering.

Instead, he remanded Charity Joy Paculio, 45 years old, in jail custody and set another bail review for Nov. 26.

Basahin ang detalye!

He also affirmed the case’s adjournment to Jan. 28, which had been set earlier to finalize its transfer to the District Court.

Paculio is accused of dealing with proceeds of crime in her Standard Chartered Bank account, for deposits and withdrawals between 22^nd and 28th of February in 2023, which totalled $2,751,387.98.

 

PRESS FOR DETAILS

Asylum seeker jailed 15 months for illegal work

 

Immigration officers escort individuals they arrested for illegal work.

A Filipina has been jailed for 15 months for working illegally, while her companion was returned to jail to await her next hearing on a similar charge.

Ellyn Pinana, 30 years old, received the jail sentence from Magistrate David Chum when she appeared  on Friday at the Shatin Court and pleaded guilty to the charge of taking employment against whom a removal order is in force.

Pinana’s conviction also activated a suspended two-month jail sentence she had received earlier at Eastern Court for overstaying, but Magistrate Chum made it run at the same time as the new sentence.

Pindutin para sa detalye

With the completion of her case, her next hearing scheduled for Oct. 24 was cancelled.

But her co-accused, Arlene Suratos, aged 47, was told to return on Oct. 24. She was remanded in jail custody.

Pinana and Suratos were charged with violation of the Immigration Ordinance which prohibits those who are facing deportation from taking employment, whether paid or unpaid.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Both were arrested last Sept. 9 while doing odd jobs in Central.

They were among the 30 persons arrested -- 22 suspected illegal workers, five suspected employers and three overstayers -- during anti-illegal worker operations conductd by Immigration Department (ImmD) Hong Kong Police Force and the Labour Department from Sept. 9 to Sept. 12.

During the anti-illegal worker operations, ImmD Task Force officers raided 34 target locations including premises under renovation and restaurants. Six suspected illegal workers were arrested. The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised five men and one woman, aged 23 to 44.

Basahin ang detalye!

During operation "Powerplayer", enforcement officers raided 100 target locations in the Central, Eastern, Wan Chai and Western districts including car parks, food stalls, massage parlors and restaurants. Sixteen suspected illegal workers, five suspected employers and three overstayers were arrested.

The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised seven men and nine women, aged 19 to 57. Among them, three men and three women were holders of recognisance forms, which prohibit them from taking any employment.

ImmD said in a warning: "As stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land is prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years' imprisonment."

Pindutin dito para sa iba pang mga detalye

PRESS FOR DETAILS

DH gets 3 months’ jail for laundering $22k

 

The Filipina admitted guilt at Kowloon City Court

A Filipina domestic helper was jailed for three months today after she pleaded guilty to money laundering by allowing her bank account to be used as depository for money derived from crime.

Susan Baral, 38 years old, appeared today at Kowloon City Court, charged with conspiracy to deal with property known or believed to represent proceeds from an indictable offence, in violation of the Organized Crime Ordinance and punishable under the Crimes Ordinance.

She pleaded guilty after the charge was read to her at the start of her trial before Magistrate Philip Chan.

TAWAG NA!

The charge arose from the deposit and withdrawal of $22,000 from her HSBC account between Nov. 11, 2019 and March 20, 2020.

She was accused of conspiring with persons known as “Cheong Yongjae” and “Danny Ahmed” in dealing with property, knowing that it “directly or indirectly represented the proceeds of an indictable offense,” according to the police complaint filed last Feb 20. 

Call us!

2 Filipina asylum seekers jailed for overstaying

The 2 Filipinas pleaded guilty to overstaying at Shatin Court

Two Filipina asylum-seekers have been sent to jail for nine and 26 weeks, respectively, after pleading guilty at Shatin Court to overstaying.

Acting Principal Magistrate Amy Chan convicted the two on Monday (March 11) of breach of condition of stay, which is punishable under the Immigration Ordinance with a fine of up to $50,000 and imprisonment of up to two years.

Madelyn Magaoay, 53 years old, was jailed for 26 weeks for overstaying for seven years until her arrest on May 27, 2023, according to the complaint filed by the Immigration Department.

TAWAG NA!

She was originally given by Immigration two weeks, or until June 10, 2016, to leave Hong Kong after arriving as a visitor.

Devine Alon, 37 years old, was sentenced to nine weeks’ imprisonment for overstaying for 22 months, or from March 22, 2022, until her arrest last Jan. 6.

She arrived in Hong Kong as a domestic helper and was allowed to stay and work in Hong Kong until her visa expired on March 22, 2022.

PINDUTIN DITO

She did not renew her visa and overstayed until she turned herself in on Jan. 6 this year . 

PADALA NA!

CALL US!

Call us!